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Final New Orleans Escapee Captured After Months on the Run
• Crime, Politics, escaped inmate, New Orleans, Derrick Groves, captured, Atlanta, police, Orleans Parish Justice Center, toilet escape, staffing issues, building design flaws, Mardi Gras, second degree murder, life imprisonment, echosphere.news, Final New Orleans Escapee Captured After Months on the Run
Derrick Groves, the last of the ten inmates who escaped from Orleans Parish Jail, has been apprehended in Atlanta after five months of evasion.
Five months after 10 inmates broke out of a Louisiana jail, the last escapee has been captured, Louisiana State Police confirmed on Wednesday.
The escaped inmate, 28-year-old Derrick Groves, was taken into custody in Atlanta, Georgia, after a brief stand-off, police said.
Police released several gas canisters into a house where Groves was believed to be hiding, and then found him hiding in a crawl space, CBS News reported.
The 10 inmates, including Groves, had fled the Orleans Parish Justice Center in May by ripping a toilet from the wall and breaking metal bars around the hole in the wall before climbing down a hall and running across a highway.
The inmates had scrawled a few messages into the wall above the hole, including To Easy LoL, a smiley face with its tongue sticking out, and another that appeared to tell officers to catch them if they can.
The escape was made easier by staffing issues and building design flaws, according to Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson.
Three were found within 24 hours of their escape and several others were captured in the following weeks.
Deputy US Marshal Brian Fair said a tip led investigators to track Groves to the Atlanta area. When police first approached the home, it appeared that no one was there. Ultimately, they found him hiding in a crawl space he had worked to conceal himself in.
Groves was convicted of second degree murder in October 2024 for firing an assault rifle into a Mardi Gras block party, killing two adults. He was also convicted of attempted murder and a federal firearms charge, and had been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Now, Groves faces additional charges for his role in the escape, and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has stated that he will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Groves will be extradited to Louisiana for processing, according to Atlanta police.